Automatic frictional clutch



Oct. 31, 1939.` A. c, PETERSON AUTOMATIC FRICTIONAL CLUTCH Filed Jam.` 29, 193'6 y sheets-sheet 1 /f//f/r J\ uw.

Oct. 31, 1939. A.- c. PETERSON 2,178,050

AUTOMATIC FRICTIONAL CLUTCH Filed Jan. 29, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .l o left of either Fig. 2 or rfrom the location of the Patented Dot.. 31; 1939 UNITED Parnu-Tormes.

I norom'rrcmmonsnu'rcn.

Adaptec. i pentium .mm sa. im, sum No. tisse 1e claim. an; ine-rtsi My invention, relates clutchingi means principally for internal combustion -engines, and is called internal combustion engines which clutchmeans shall. be simple in its iconstrinition,` .reliable inI- operation and `auton'xaticiin` its4 ninctioning. if. itis desired to have it automatic in its-func.-`

tioning. Anobiect isj toprovide aclutch 'means which ,shall be positive in its engagement vet shall be so gradually .engageable when en@ gaged-,that itsclutching action smooth and without jerking, end isso graduaiiyem.y gaging .in every 'engagementwithoutv any-es# pecial vcare of4 the operatorthe'refor. f An'oblectx is to provide a form of clutch means Vwhich may. in its construction beso made that it '-iii'a\1t:

matically engaging rat afpredetermined speed 2() of 'the engine and that whenever that speed is not attained the clutch'will automatic'aliyv dis engage. An object is to provide a form of clutchwhich shall .be capable oi.' manual disengagement when it is desired so as to render the automatic engagement.v ineective at the will/of ,theioperator, while atthe same time the'clutch may: be so constructed Vthatit has. the automatic I control. An object isto provide a form of clutch engagement means which.is../Inh e`rently uniforrlnr` and perfectly equalized in/ its pressure application so that improved engagement or functioning i results. In general the Jobject is to provide imvproved clutching means. for internaifcomhustionf engines.

v'Ihe principal devices and combinations of 'devices comprising my inventionuc as. hereinafter y described and asv defined infthe claims. yIn the view in elevation'taken yfrom the section on the line III- moi llig.y

rig. 4 isaI detail view of thegovernorlevers showing a modiilcation of their construction.y .to show-linkage connecting them, this being omit- '55 ted in Figs. 1, 2, Stor the sake oi" simplicity in` automatic frictionai clutch. The Vprincipal .objects oi 'my invention' are f to' 6 provide a form oi.' clutch for useprincipaliy with g di thereto y'ny any means or formed integ- Afeleinentsoi' this novelclutching means.

' verhealsecnon ony -bymeanlof teeth or, lugs; Ii is rotatably enfy through the f taken'v onthe line] 111-11 being a,modiii ed .form to' be` iffiound ldesirable or necessary'.

- Lainviewof the rear me er 4a fric omai disll showingapplied thereto a setjof cupspllconstituting ya modified form yfor 6 oi'the'thrust of pistons 18, and. rlligur'et Kshows a cross-section ofthis modiiiedf. form yof, disk with cupsv M applied, this,

- `cross-section being Atakenanguiarly on ythe line .l--I .of Pig. 5 and ilona plane yat right angles 10 y tothe face of Figure 5, and shows the pistons It Vas .they are applied to the depressions 4l. Referrinmto the heures. from 1 to 3 both in-.,. clnsivefthe numeralibindicates the crani:A case of. an engine, 2 its crankshaft, 3 its connecting rod. this mucho! an;engine beingshown only agrammaticaiiLillustrate the engine. and ,t0-show theapplication of the clutch :means thereto. "Die, crank shaft has attached thereto or rally therewithz'an; engine flywheel I and .this ilywheel-hasincorporated therewith the essential A1 driven orsecondary :shaft l is t its frontv end or yone end rotatably mounted by means of -215 ythe stnb 'shaft l in a bore or bearing inV the axial 'of the. flywheel or end of the crank shaft l. driven shaft hasassociated'with it the `tvvoiix'iven -disks 1. and I one of which .may beiv f formed integrally withvor flexibly attached -to 3u it in anymanner and the otherof which is shown as. slidable axially of the driven shaft land rotatably secured toit by means. of thetongue and groove construction ..."Jrhese driven disks yshould in anyfmanner be made axiallyamovable a short .35

distance and the `driven shaft 5 should have come slight laxial movement if the one disk or either of thejdisks are-nexibly attached, but in any casetheyshould be yieldable axially so as to eifect .the enlllement described.

The ywheel. hasr one,r auxiliary or supplemental disk-'ilwhichis slidable yaxially `of it and gaged by* the groovesii! in the interior of the iiy'wheei drumgI-I.' These'diSksIorm-a multiple diskclutch butit is vto be noted thatonlyone frictional 7disk or driven Adisk may be used for enmement against-'the'iiywheeL attached tothe rear v'of .the iiywheel ,il bythe bolts -I.|, a castor forgedcover .50,- v'Il and thisfhas or'may'have a central bearingV il whexeinthe driven shaft'l rotates. .The cover f Il is circular in shape and-hasformedgintegrallywith it, that iscast or forged with it on the side toward the ciutchdisks, a plurality of 5s smalloylinders Ileachcfwhichhssitsaxis parallelwith theaxisofthedrlvenshaftlor the crank shaft 2 and is' a abort cylinder open sttheendtowardthedisksandadaptedtohave reciprocable therein the pressure responsive pistons Ilofwhichthereisone foreachcylinder il. lachofthepressureresponsivepistons ilhas cnthe end toward the disksfa knob "vor other means engageable against the nearest or end drivendisk. Thisnearestdrivendiskisinthe natureofacompressinsdiskandshould beespeciallyheavyorstrongincstructionso that it can uniformly transmit the pressure of the pressure responsive pistons without bending or yielding. It is to be noted however that in some constructions this nearest disk may be bendablc orofaspringconstmctionsothatitisyieldableandthatincaseitissomadetheformof supplemental compression cup or supplemental diskillustratedinllgureshmildbeusedone for each pressure responsive piston associated with its knob Il, to receive the pressure of that #sten Il. Either of such constructions may be used and in come constructions the compression cup would preferably be used to transmit the compression in order to more effectively secure thebeneiitoftheuniformpressure ofengagement from the pistons il. ILikewise the other dkb" used may be `made yieldable or springlike in substance to secure the yieldsble' characterandtheymaybemadenormallyofaslightly bent formto secure quick release'andgradual engagement. f i

Bach cylinder I'I has a port 2l by means which there is permanent connection with an annular'conduit 2l formed in the cover Ii. `The annular conduit 2i is under operation adapted to receive liquid as compressed or pumped from two Y pump cylinders-22 whichA are each formed integrally with or attacbed'to the cover Il on its side toward the disksfand each pump cylinder 22hasitsaxisatrightanglestotheaxisofthe driven shaft I and has a relatedy reciprocahle piston 22operablebyeccentrlcs2lonaneccentric 2l on driven shaft l. Thus each pump piston 22 is adapted to have one reciprocation in its pump cylinder for each revolution of the driven shaft] relative to the ywheel l. 'Ihe capacity of these pumps is not large but must be suilcient to secure the necessary pressure after a small number of revolutions. to secure the gradual engagement desirable. This relative capacity can best be determined by trial forthe especial type of constructionand use.

The pump cylinders 22 deliver by means of the non-return valved ports 2t. non-return valves 21,

to conduit 2| and the pressure responsive piston has a loop at its end wherein is a lever Il ofl governor arm 2i., and this lever and the valve is yieldably returned to the position whereby its port 22 is in communication with port 2l, by coil spring 23, and is adapted to be forced to the position shown, whereby the ports 2l are completely closed, whenever centrifugal force on the governor arms Il is sumcient to overcome the springs 2l and this will occur at any predetermined speed of the crank shaft 2, say four or five hundred or three hundred or whatever may be determined to be the desirable speed of engagement. The enect of springs 2l may be made adjustable but this is not shown for the sake of simplicity in the drawins.

The other method of relief of the pressure is comprised by the ports 34 which are adapted to release pressure from conduit 2i whenever the valves 2l are pulled outwardly in their small valve bores by means of the levers it, the latter trunnioned on the rear side of the cover Il. These levers 3l are normally kept in the pomtion whereby valves Il close the ports 24 by means of the yieldable springs 21, of which there is one for each lever Il. These levers may be contacted by the ring 3l whenever the ring 2l by means of lever Il is moved to pull the valves 3l outwardly so as to open the ports 24 and thereby release pressure'in the conduit 2i and cylinders l1, to the interior space A. The ring I9 by means of trunnions Il is flexibly attached to lever 4l, and the latter may be an independent lever in an automobile or associated by linkage with any other operating control lever as a brake lever or accelerator lever, but is preferably independent as shown.

In the use of my device, or its construction, the manual control methods shown'may be omitted, and reliance for vcontrol placed solely upon the other means, or they may be used conjointly. This would depend to some extent upon the nature of the transmission means used, and whether it is desired to use the transmission means in the customary manner for disconnecting the drivingy line, when no motion is desired. In the event'onlythe automatic control is used this would be effective whenever the predetermined speed of the crank shaft 2 is reached to clutch the crank shaft'2 to driven shaft 5, and declutch it whenever the speed is less. In the event only the' hand or manual control is used this clutching-would depend on the use of lever ,Il hy the operator.

the relief valves, to move inwardly, closing the ports 2l and (the lever It being placed to be ineffective to open valves 35) the pump pistons accumulate pressure in the conduit 2| and cylinders I1 and this pressure may reach any pressure necessary to cause engagement positively, as this pumping and increase of pressure will continue until the relative revolution of the crank shaft and driven shaft ceases, and that is until complete clutching is effective.

This clutching will proceed at a speed or gradual increase of effectiveness according to the relative capacity of the pump pistons to pump the liquid. The vcasing formed by the flywheel and cover Il, the space A will ln use be filled with a liquid such as a very uid lubricating oil or any uid which will not become thick or viscous at the changes in temperature usually encountered in use. This liquid should flll the space A nearly full so that whenever centrifugal force is exerted by flywheel the liquid will surround each of the pump cylinders so that liquid may be inducted through the ports 42 in the side wall of the cylinders 22 from the conduits 43. The usual non- 75 device more emcient in awaiting a kgo signal,

return valved ports may be adoptedin place of the side wall ports 42 if that use w render the use, but the induction ports showin covered and uncovered by are adopted for simplicity in the 1li Whenever the operator desires vehicle or `declntch he may the engine crank shait'l to decel the tomary Amanner asby use o! an connected or controlling .a throttle 'vaive--otm"e engine. Such deceleration will allow thenywheel to decelerate to a speed lessrthan the speed ofy clutch engagement. and thereuponffthe governor arms pull the valves liquidy pressure A and thereupon the leased from pressure.

Or at any time he Amail? move ports -34 by 29 to open ports 2s faotnat frietional disks will be relever Il valves pressure is relieved, and this release m tinue aslongsstheoperatorkeepsiever ll position to open ports `)hrend he `may do this as when his vehicle is standing at aroad t0 insure Naim m of the vehicle. The luse ever not necessary.' the cl `toning-'will be eilective or ineffective according to the speed ofthe crank shaft 1.5 and the predetermined' speed of control by the governor arms. `The liquid should not completely nllspace A so as to permit some degree of expansion of the liquid against air in the space A. t o

Referring to Figure 4 this ngure shows vu linkf age 44 which associates the governor .annali :as to cause themv to e control, but it is tbe noted that ln the oonstruction shown-in Figures 1, 2, 3, rthespi'ings shoulid be of auch evenly graduated pressure or uniform that the controlwillbe alike `in lboth valves,- or only one of the controlvalvesmaybe used instead of tworl In Fig. 5, a rear view ofthe rear irictional driven disk is shown with ahum ber of compressor cups 45 equivsicttothenumser of pistons la, and m this-career vruimen use, the knobs Ii'would bear against the depressions 46 in the cups the-under side 'of cups 445 would bear agaihsttheirictiun disks to transmit the pressure from Vthepis'tons i8 vto the disks. The cups may be on mehr'v underside so hallowed out that o ly their circumferential edies touch the rictional k. Cups in first form shown when l is a flexible disk or semi'- flexible.

While :I have shown particular devices and combinations of devices in the illustration' of rnv invention I conte late that other detailed devices and combinations of-devices may beused in the realization qrjmyinyenuon without gleparting from the spirit and contemplation 4olf i invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a clutch, a driving element; ment, frctional elements adapted the other of `the driing and driven elements, pressure responsive elements adapted to. .torce the frictional elements into contact, means subjeca drivempletive to the relative rotation between the and the driven elements to impose ili'dpressure upon the pressure responsive elements, and centrifugally controlled means responsive to speed of the driving element and adapted on attainment of speed exceeding a predetermined mini-v mum to impose the fluid pressureupon thepressure responsive elements.

detrattori. follow-Whildo so by piu'ruittinl` will be vmoved by their'spsjinzw 'Y inconduit 2| isreleased to spacey to llrto space A and thusy r` gy; a

or um' lever u ummy f trietional elements Y and on.- attainment of move in unison according to the and vindented to grinone to:Y

a driving element, a driven element,firictional elements adapted to grip one to the other di the -driving and driven elements, pressure responsive e niente adapted to force the frictions-1 elements in' contact. means subieetive vto therolative Y tionbetwe'en the driving and une ydriven gements tampone num pressure upon the :pressureresposive elements, and centriiugaliy` ine'ans responsive to speed nt the urivlng'feiemeat and ment of exc a predetermined minimum to. the iiiid pressure upon the pressure reswiisiveeiemenu.

f3. In-azclutch, a driving element, a drivonelement, :trictionali elements adapted. to grip one Vto the other of the driving :aliddriven elements, pressure responsive elements adapted to force the 'irictional elements into contact, means subjec- .tive tothe relative rotation between the driving and elementsand adapted to impose fluid 'Wellin upon the ,pressure` responsive elements, responsive to speed oflthe driving element on attainment of speed exceeding the' pressure responsive elements.

\ ylciuiitfh, a driving elementari driven elementdrimional elemente adapted to grip one to the otlae'r'oil .the driving and driven elemente,

pressure responsive elements'adapted to force the into'contact-means subjective to the relative rotation between thedriving and driven elements, and adapted to impose iluid pressure` upon 4the pressure responsive elements, mensro'spons'ive to speed of; the driving element n speed exceeding thepredetermined minimum to impose the iiuid pressure'upon the' pressure responsive elements.

5.The means described inj claim 4 and means subjective to manual control to relieve the pressure o! the iluid'pressure upon the pressure re- =2..In a clutch,

l ,sponsive elements. f

l il.y Inra clutch, a driving element. `n driven elementfirictional elements adapted to grip one to the other or the irlctional elements, pressure reaponsive elements adapted to force the frictional elements into contact, aiiuid pumping means having one element rotatable in association with the driving element and having another element rotatable in association with the driven element,

and `'adapted to impose iluid pressure upon the pressure 'responsive elements, and a control means subjective to-speed of therdriving element on attainment of speed exceeding a predetermined minimum to impose the fluid pressure upori'the fluid pressure responsive elements. .f l

lL Ina clutch, a driving element, a driven element, frictional elements adapted to grip one to the'A other-oi the driving and driven elements,

pressure responsive elements adapted to force the irictional elements into'con'tact, a fluid pumping means having one element rotatable in association withthe driving element and having anadapted on attain-k other element rotatablein association with the entendement, and adapted to impose num pressure uponethe pressure responsive elements, and a control means subject to speed of the driving element and adapted on attainment of speed exceeding a predetermined minimum to impose the fluid pressure upon the Juiuii pressure responsive elements.

8. In a clutch, a driving element, a driven element, ix'lctionalA elemen adapted to grip one to the other. of the driving and driven elements, pressure responsive elements reciprocable in cyl- 

